By Chiebuka Enwere

Chairman, Institute of the Chartered Secretaries and Administrator of Nigeria, (ICSAN) Lagos State Chapter, Mrs. Abiola Laseinde has urged Small and Meduim Sized Enterprises (SMEs) across the country to adopt a sense of responsibility to society and give back to it irrespective of how much they have.

Laseinde gave this charge at a conference hosted by the organisation at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In an interview during the conference themed, “Corporate Social Responsibility; A Veritable Governance Tool for Boards- Emergence, Impact and Prospects”, the Chairman counselled all businesses, especially SMEs, in Nigeria to adopt Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a philosophy.

“CSR is about each one reaching out to another person; a corporation reaching out to the environment; a corporation reaching out to its people, its asset, itself. There are so many dimensions of CSR that every Nigerian can fit into one, be it big, or small. There is always an opportunity to do good. CSR can be executed by anybody in the strata of the society. For me, I believe it is a way of life. Anybody whether you are at Alaba or the MD of Zenith bank can get involved in CSR.” she explained.

However, she noted that CSR is never an alternative to the governmental provisions.

She argued that both institutions must work hard to improve the society within the requirement of the constitution and morality.

According to her, “We are not responsible for the government failures. The position I will view CSR from is whether the government fails or not, it is the responsibility, an obligation to impact the society.”

She described the any attempt to fill government’s space as “controversial”.

Also at the event, Executive Secretary, MTN Nigeria Foundation, Nonny Ugboma urged government to continue their best, and partner well with companies, adding that it should not depend too much on them.

She said: “an overt dependence on companies will drive away Foreign Direct Investors, and will cripple the economy by adding additional charges to them.”

She, however, thought government will be better off rewarding businesses that are dedicated to improving the economic, social and environmental situation. Those that pollute the environment should be treated as criminals.